A golfer hits a ball. The ball leaves the club with an initial upward velocity of 40 meters per second. If the ball is 0.25 meters off the ground when it leaves the golf club, about how many seconds will it take for the ball to hit the ground?

a.-0.01 seconds
b.8.17 seconds
c.16.34 seconds
d.40.033 seconds

Question

A golfer hits a ball. The ball leaves the club with an initial upward velocity of 40 meters per second. If the ball is 0.25 meters off the ground when it leaves the golf club, about how many seconds will it take for the ball to hit the ground?

a.-0.01 seconds 
b.8.17 seconds 
c.16.34 seconds 
d.40.033 seconds

anonymous · Answer

Since the upward velocity starts at 40m/s, we can use the equation v_final = v_inital + at to find the time it takes to go up (since we know at the top, velocity is zero, we have v_final = 0 and v_initial = 40). Don't forget that a (acceleration) is negative, and that the time back down to the ground will be about the same as the time to the top. That should help!